Waitress
by UGAdawg
Summary: Kag has spent 2 years trying to be perfect. She never thought she was missing anything, till she met the crew of Your Choice Bar and Grill, a group of people so unlike everything Kag has strived to be that she can’t help being drawn to them. InuKag.
1. Chapter 1

Waitress

By: UGAdawg

Summary: Kagome has spent her whole life trying to be perfect, to please others. She never stayed out late so her mother would never worry and she was dating Hojo (a boy who was approved of at school and was dull enough to be completely safe). Her life was perfect from an outside perspective and Kagome never thought she was missing anything, until she met the crew of Your Choice Bar and Grill, a group of people so different from everything Kagome has strived to be that she can't help being drawn into their world. Maybe they'll teach her that life isn't just about making it out alive, it's about the risks you take and the people you meet along the way that show you what's really important.

Chapter One

Kagome was sprawled out at the end of Hojo's bed, idly toying with the hem of her shirt. She had thought that maybe today, just maybe, he would try to go a little farther with her. She was painfully aware that the two of them had been dating for two years now and had yet to go farther then short make-out sessions every once in awhile. It wasn't that she was disappointed; Hojo was just being responsible and respecting her. But sometimes, on rare occasions like today, she wanted a little more. A little more passion from him would go a long way.

She sighed and rolled over onto her stomach. Thinking like that would get her nowhere in life. Hojo was right, really he was always right. Having too intimate a relationship at their age was irresponsible and would damage her morality. They were only seventeen. She was a good girl, and if she wanted to be perfect she should abstain from intimacy. So why then did she regret not leaning in a little more, not letting her smooth hand slide under his shirt to touch something more substantial than fabric. A blush rose subtly to her cheeks.

"Kagome, are you feeling alright?" Hojo walked back into the room. His phone had gone off during one of their rare make-out sessions and of course he had to answer it. Hojo was responsible like that. His mother had called and it would have been unforgivable for him to disrespect her and _not_ pick up the phone. "Your face is a little flushed. Do you think you're coming down with a fever? I could go get you some medicine." His face was slightly twisted with worry, the edges of his lips curved slightly downward in a frown.

That was another thing about Hojo. He always worried about everybody and was always prepared. Not too many people knew that he actually carried around a small first aid kit in his backpack and had a spare one (specially designed for automotive emergencies) stashed in his glove box. Hojo was _always_ prepared.

Kagome just smiled a little and shook her head. "You don't have to worry, Hojo. I'm alright, I promise." She sat up and looked at him, waiting for him to make the next move.

Kagome had been lost before Hojo. Her father had died a few years ago and she'd been in free fall. It was as if everything she thought was certain, permanent in the world was suddenly shaky and indeterminate. She needed someone to ground her. And that's where Hojo had come in. As soon as she met him and was introduced to his neat and organized world, that's all she ever wanted. He helped her toward that gain. And in return for that absolute security, Kagome gave Hojo her life. Her world revolved around him. Friends that she had had before Hojo dwindled away, hobbies that he didn't also participate in seemed to vanish, and she loved him. That's why she sat at the end of the bed, starring at him, and letting him make all the decisions while she happily obeyed.

Hojo's face smoothed out as the lines of slight worry faded away and a small, sincere smile broke out across his face. "Well I'm glad you're feeling fine, but my mom is on her way home and wants me to run out and do some quick errands before she arrives. So I think you should head home Kagome."

Kagome frowned and bit her lip a little. It was a nervous habit of hers, had always been a habit of hers. It was the one thing in her life that Hojo didn't verbally approve of. "I can come with you. I can help you out with the errands." Her voice sounded pathetically expectant and she was aware of it. But she didn't care, her life revolved around him and without him there she was nothing.

Hojo slowly approached her and lightly patted her on the head, as if she were a child. "Kagome, you don't have to come with me. I have to go do those errands now though; I can't just put them off when my mother asked me to do them promptly. You should go home." Hojo grabbed her hand and lightly pulled her off the bed. When he noticed the slight frown on her face he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don't be upset Kagome. I'll see you tomorrow. I've already scheduled our lunch date into my planner. It's all set up."

Kagome gave him a small smile. She had a love-hate relationship with Hojo's renowned planner. He lived by that book, his whole days planned out in neat, block letters. On one hand, it was part of Hojo's organized world that she felt secure in and on the other hand, she felt like all it would take to ease her out of his life was a little whiteout. She would never complain though, she never complained.

They exited Hojo's room after quickly making the bed to restore the precision to his personal world. Hojo's house was as immaculate as his habits. Kagome always felt strange walking down the hallways that were as orderly as an empty home. Yet she wanted it too, she tried to mimic this ultimate clean in her room as well. She never could pull it off as well as Hojo could. They approached the front door and Kagome stopped obediently and waited. Hojo leaned forward and allowed a close, impersonal kiss to be exchanged before he opened up the door for her.

Before stepping outside, Kagome glanced back into the foyer, completely pollutant free, then at the world outside. It seemed like such a dirty place, such an uncertain world. She was loath to leave Hojo's house. But she had to, he had told her to go and she always obeyed. He was her rock… she would be frightened and alone without him.

Kagome had become a creature of habit. It helped her feel stable. When driving home from Hojo's house (which she did every single day), Kagome always took Willow Street all the way down to her neighborhood (Lakeside), then turned onto the first street on the left and went down to the third house. Every single day she took this simple route. It was neat and concise, just the way she and Hojo liked her life.

So that's why it was strange when she had the sudden urge to turn onto Old Highway instead of Willow and take the long way home. She was the only one at the little intersection, sitting and pondering her urge. Taking Old Highway home would mean a big loop around the town before turning off Old Highway and onto another street approaching her neighborhood from the opposite direction. It was a long, pointless route and yet she was dying to go.

Maybe she needed a change of scenery. No. She never needed a change of scenery. She did the same exact thing almost everyday and she was perfectly happy. She used to take the Old Highway route all the time because the road was full of twists and blind corners, a thrill to drive. But blind corners could hide things, deer waiting to jump out in front of you or dangerous drivers swerving over the line on a tight curve. Hojo had told her two years ago to start taking Willow and she had never strayed, not once.

Not until now. She took a right instead of going straight and was on the old, familiar highway again. At this time of day it was usually pretty crowded with people driving home from work. Today was no different. She continued on for about twenty minutes without anything peculiar. It was the same shopping strips and restaurants she'd always known were there. Everything was exactly as she remembered it. A small art store flew by on the right; a quaint little coffee shop went by on the left. The familiarity of it all was also soothing. Kagome didn't like change. It never meant anything good.

Everything was familiar until she reached the end of the winding street. Right before the turn she would take to head towards her neighborhood was a little building. It was a nondescript, square building with cream-colored stucco siding. The parking lot in front only had a couple cars parked in it even though it was getting close to the typical dinner hour. On the outside of the building was a modest sign labeling the place as Your Choice Bar and Grill. Kagome had never been there before; she couldn't even remember when the little place had popped up.

Without really making a conscious decision, Kagome turned her little red sedan into the parking lot. She had deviated from her normal path once today. What would be so wrong with changing her plans a little again today?

She had been planning on ordering take-out when she got home. Her mother wouldn't be there, she had turned into a workaholic after her father's death. Kagome wasn't bitter about that. Her mother had to support her and her little brother. And Sota would be at a friend's house that night. So she was all alone tonight…

After parking, Kagome started up the concrete sidewalk to the red front doors. They swung open easily under her touch and revealed a charming place. The hard wood floor was swept clean (mostly…) and booths with cream-colored chairs lined the walls (even though all the tables had different condiments on them and weren't exactly uniform). Against the wall near the door was a long counter with a window showing into a small white kitchen and music was playing out of an old radio perched precariously on top of the coffee machine. The place was completely empty.

The screaming though quickly overshadowed all other observations.

"Miroku! I swear if you touch me one more time I promise that you will never regain use of that hand again!" Kagome glanced around a small corner to where the screaming was coming from. In the small pocket she noticed a beautiful young woman with long brown hair pulled into a high ponytail. She wore simple makeup, just a little eye shadow. Her hands were tugging furiously at her apron, straightening out the edges. The man she was talking to was smiling lightly. His black hair was pulled back into a tiny ponytail at the nape of his neck and his large blue eyes were dancing with obvious enjoyment as he rubbed his slightly red cheek. Neither of them noticed her.

"But Sango, my love for you is so overwhelming that I can't keep it locked up inside. I have to express it through touch or it will simply destroy me." He, Miroku Kagome assumed, placed both hands over his heart and closed his eyes with a sigh.

Sango just rolled her eyes. "Then write poetry you pervert, you don't have to feel me up every time I turn my back on you." She frowned. "Or better yet, just let your feelings destroy you! I couldn't care less what happened to you." She huffed and turned her back on him, which was a mistake. Without wasting a moment Miroku's hand shot out and swept across her ass. Sango wasn't exactly slow on her feet either. She whipped around and lifting up her waitress tray let it strike him across the head. He stumbled back a bit, even as he laughed.

Kagome was suddenly terrified. This was strange to her, this little place where inhibitions seemed to not exist. People shouldn't act like that… especially not in a public setting. She wanted to run. And she started to too, until she was finally noticed.

"Sango, if you'd stop trying to prove to everyone here that you're not secretly in love with Miroku you'd probably have noticed that a customer has been standing here waiting for awhile now." Kagome jumped a little and whipped around to see that the front counter was no longer empty. The person that had spoken up was a young man, slightly tanned with shockingly light hair (platinum or silver would describe it best) pulled back into a low ponytail and lazy amber eyes watching her from under a flurry of bangs. He was leaning against the counter with his head resting in his large hand. Next to him, leaning her back against the wall was another young woman. She was striking in her beauty. Long perfectly straight black hair (that Kagome could only dream of having) cascaded down her back making her pale skin stand out in the contrast. She was all angles, and suddenly Kagome felt inferior. Her gray eyes weren't even looking in Kagome's direction.

"I am so sorry! I didn't mean to ignore you. Welcome to Your Choice Bar and Grill, would you like take-out or are you planning on eating here?" Sango, who had been all fury a moment ago, was now smiling calmly and walking over to where Kagome was standing. She had the urge to run out of there as fast as she could again.

Biting her bottom lip, Kagome just shook her head. "Umm, sorry. I don't really need anything. I'm sorry." And Kagome turned around and started for the door as fast as she could without looking like she was running away.

"Why'd you come in then?" Kagome jumped at the question and looked back over to the light haired man. He looked confused as his eyes followed her progress towards the door. "You sure you don't need _anything_?"

"I'm sure. Bye." And she was out in the sunlight again, walking briskly towards her car. She shouldn't have deviated from her normal path. This is what happens when you do something new; you run into fanatical people who have no sense of public decency. She was aware of how superior Hojo was to those people. How perfect Hojo was in comparison to the slightly disheveled appearance of the workers there.

She knew all this… yet she was never quite sure why from that day forward she always took Old Highway home, passing Your Choice with a furtive glance.

A/N: Well that was chapter one. Please review so I know what you think. Reviews will also keep me motivated to keep writing as fast as I can. Thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

Waitress

By: UGAdawg

A/N: I would like to thank the people that reviewed; I really do appreciate it. Reviews are what keep me motivated as a writer. Special thanks to LilAznBby for being my very first reviewer.

Chapter Two

"Try not to be so upset Kagome." Hojo gave her a guilty glance as he paced in front of her. They were at her house tonight. Kagome was lounging on the couch just watching her boyfriend pace. "This isn't permanent, only for a couple weeks."

Kagome sat up and turned away from Hojo for a moment to stare out the large, front window. She just needed to focus on something else for a moment to collect herself. Hojo didn't like excess emotion and she felt about ready to snap at that moment. "But it's our last summer together. I just…" She didn't know how to continue without showing too much emotion. "I just want to be able to actually spend it with you."

Hojo just smiled soothingly at her. "It's not our last summer, Kagome. It's just the last summer before college. And I will be back in August. I'm only going to be gone for two months." He stopped pacing and walked toward her. Kneeling down so that he was eye level with her, Hojo seized her hands. "This European tour will help me build on my résumé before I even get to the university. You understand, right?"

Kagome suppressed her frown. Yea, she understood. She understood that he cared more about building on his resume then on spending time with her; she was always trumped by volunteer work or school activities. She understood that he was all she really had; without Hojo there a dreadfully lonely summer stretched ahead of her. "I understand Hojo. Don't worry about it." She leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Just keep in touch with me while you're there, promise?"

"Of course. I'll write you every week." Hojo stood back up and sat down on the couch, obviously relieved now that that emotional situation was dodged.

"Write?" Kagome instantly frowned again. "Why can't you call?"

"I decided that a cell phone would be too much of a distraction while I'm trying to focus. I can't have people calling me at all hours. Writing would just be much more convenient and productive for everyone." Hojo said this so automatically, it was as if he had sat down for an hour and composed answers to all of her inquiries. It kind of upset her.

After a few hours of meaningful discussion about politics and global warming, Hojo left and Kagome felt incomplete already. He had kind of sprung the news on her with no warning. Hojo was leaving tomorrow and Kagome was going to be utterly alone.

Muttering to herself, Kagome got off the couch and walked towards the stairs so she could slip into her bedroom without any contact with her family. She really didn't want to face them right now and explain that she would most likely be wasting the summer before college alone and confused while Hojo toured Europe.

The next week passed on in complete monotony. Kagome continued on in the same routine she had religiously followed for the past two years… just without Hojo there. She woke up early, went to yoga for a few hours, came home and did chores, had a vegan lunch, then continued with chores and meaningful study. By the end of the week Kagome was about ready to crack from the boredom. Without Hojo, her normal routine seemed unbearable.

On her way back from some errands on Saturday, Kagome got stuck at a red light on the corner of Old Highway and Blossom drive. It was always a long red light because Old Highway had more traffic then Blossom did. So as she waited, Kagome just starred idly at the road sign and wondered why the person who designed this little town felt the need to name all the streets after trees that weren't even in the area.

Suddenly her view was obstructed by an old, blue truck, which pulled up to the light in the lane beside her. Across the side of the truck, painted in large block letters, was 'Your Choice Bar and Grill'. Kagome had forgotten about her experience in the restaurant over a week ago. It was such an insignificant moment that she hadn't felt the need to think about it. But suddenly she was painfully aware of that moment because behind the wheel of the truck, tapping his fingers across the steering wheel in tune with whatever was playing on his radio, was the silver haired waiter.

Sometimes it seems like the universe is conspiring against you. Like everything happens at just the right moment to push you towards something. If Kagome hadn't been stuck at that red light, if she hadn't been feeling so worthless, if Hojo had been at home, Kagome wouldn't have switched lanes and followed the truck down Old Highway instead of taking Blossom to Willow and head home. But she did without hesitation.

After a few minutes both cars pulled into the parking lot of Your Choice Bar and Grill. Kagome parked right next to the blue truck and got out of her car. The man was leaning against the side of his car watching her closely. Kagome was slightly unnerved to see that he didn't seem surprised to see her there again at all.

"Any particular reason you followed me back here?" He drawled out the sentence lazily, as if it didn't really matter what she said in return. He had already made up his mind what her reason was.

Kagome suddenly felt nervous and embarrassed at being so obvious about following him there. "I don't know… I guess I was just bored." It was a pathetic response, and she knew it.

He just shrugged, no sign of surprise. Then he pushed himself off the truck and started towards the building, motioning her to follow him. "We kind of got an unexpected rush a little while ago. I was driving to Miroku's house to see if I could convince him to come in today and help out since no one will answer their phones. Damn caller id."

She had to power walk to keep up with his long, smooth strides. "Suffice to say, the bastard was too busy with his _date_ and couldn't come in." Suddenly he stopped before the red front doors as a small family slipped inside ahead of them. He let out a frustrated sigh. "If you're really bored enough to follow strangers around, how about you take his place for today and help out. We'll pay you of course. What do you say?"

Kagome was a little stunned by the suggestion. She didn't quite know what to say. But it seemed that her companion had already made up his mind about her answer to this question too. He grabbed her forearm and pulled her through the red doors, letting them swing shut behind them.

And just like that Kagome had a job for the day. She never did plan to get a job that summer. Kagome didn't really need the money, and all her time had previously been taken up by volunteer work and yoga with Hojo. But there she was, running back and forth between the kitchen window and her tables serving food and refilling drinks.

Surprisingly enough she picked up the work quickly. Kagome had been striving towards perfection for so long and she wasn't about to exclude that perfection from any aspect of her life, including a random day working at Your Choice. The menu was easy to remember, just basic bar food like burgers and fries. And after a few little slip-ups for the first hour, Kagome was able to fall into the routine.

It was hectic work, the kind of work that Hojo would loathe because of the complete chaos of everything. Nothing seemed to go completely right. A steak was too rare, the wrong dressing was brought out with the salad, and sodas were accidently upturned on unsuspecting customers. But for every little debacle there was always a quick solution. Everyone she was working with never seemed phased by these little disasters.

They all had a different way of coping. Sango, the fiery brunette from earlier, would just give the complaining customer a strained smile, apologize, and then calmly walk back to the kitchen where she would immediately break down in a torrent of curses and rude gestures until the cook finished remaking the dish for her to bring out. None of the customers ever saw her little breakdowns.

Inuyasha, the young man who had offered her the job, wasn't so subtle with his displeasure. At one point a customer was complaining that he had asked for onion rings instead of fries and demanded his meal be free. So Inuyasha said that he completely agreed and picked up the plate of food and flipped it onto the man's lap as if it was the most natural thing to do. He did things like that the whole time varying in extremes from hanging up on a difficult phone order to almost beating up another young man that seemed to know him from school. It was a miracle he still had a job…

And that left her. Kagome was personally just trying to survive with minimal confrontation, which wasn't easy. People get really heated over their food. No one was ever really happy. And the place was completely packed with impatient patrons waiting around the door for a seat. After the first few minutes, Kagome wasn't surprised at all that Inuyasha had offered her the job so impulsively. They really did need the extra help.

But hours passed, and Your Choice was left empty after the last dinner customer left. Sango sat collapsed in a chair looking completely disheveled and lazily flipping through her tips. Kagome sat across the booth from her also counting her tips. Kagome had never had a job before and felt a certain sense of pride from having earned some money for the first time. Usually she just survived off of allowance. Inuyasha had pulled up a chair next to them and was lounging in it indolently after having already pocketed his cash.

"I don't know how you manage to make so much money Inuyasha. It just stuns me. You're a complete asshole to most of your customers, yet you make a killing in tips every single night. What's your secret?" Sango glanced up from her collection of one-dollar bills to look at Inuyasha. Kagome kept quiet in her chair. It had been so busy that she hadn't really talked to either of the two except to ask for a straw or where the ketchup was. She was feeling out of place.

"The secret is intimidation." Inuyasha smirked a little. "Most of those people are regulars meaning that no matter how much I piss them off, they'll be back. And they know that I'll be handling their food again someday. They give me good tips to placate me so that I don't _accidently_ drop their steak on the floor before serving it to them next time." He chuckled a little and glanced over at Kagome. "People learn quick not to fuck with people that handle their food."

Kagome just smiled nervously; these weren't the type of people she normally hung out with. Sango also glanced her way and acknowledged her for the first real time that evening. "Thanks for helping us out today, we wouldn't have survived without a little help. Kikyo had today off, but Miroku completely flaked on us." She muttered something that sounding like 'perverted asshole' under her breath.

"Was Kikyo the other young woman that was here when I stepped in awhile ago?" Kagome glanced from Sango to Inuyasha waiting for a response.

Inuyasha let out a slight sigh. "Yea, that was Kikyo. She's a stunner, right?" He said this so strangely, that Kagome couldn't help shooting him a furtive glance.

"Don't let Inuyasha alarm you." Sango said with a small laugh, reaching out and touching Kagome's hand in an encouraging way. "Kikyo and him used to date way back when he got her the job. Then they broke up and Kikyo decided she still wanted to work here. It causes all kinds of work drama." Sango lightly hit Inuyasha on the arm as he huffed. "Poor Inuyasha was heartbroken."

"Shut up." Inuyasha snarled out at Sango. He appeared threatening enough but Sango just laughed it off.

Kagome just smiled nervously. She still wasn't used to this brand of banter. "Well it was a pleasure to meet you both, and thank you very much for the opportunity today. My mother expected me home an hour ago though and I shouldn't keep her waiting." Kagome pushed her chair back and stood up, smiling politely at the two of them. "Maybe I'll see you later."

She started towards the door after Sango gave her a hug goodbye, which freaked her out a little, but she let it slide this time. Inuyasha didn't say anything though and Kagome didn't let that bother her. He was a peculiar man.

Before she got to her car though, Inuyasha caught up with her in the parking lot. "We've always been a little shorthanded since my brother left for college last year and we've been meaning to hire someone new for awhile now but never got around to it. Since you already have some experience, would you like the job?"

Kagome didn't even hesitate. "Yes. That would be nice."

A/N: I hope you liked that chapter. Sorry it took me so long, I was in France for the past week and couldn't write. Please, PLEASE, review. I'd love to know what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

Waitress

By: UGAdawg

A/N: Thanks very much for all the reviews. Please keep them coming, I love to hear what you all think of how the story is progressing.

Chapter 3

"You have to remember that the customer is _'always right'_." Sango continued wiping off tabletops to get ready for Your Choice to open. Kagome was following her around obediently, trying to learn the fundamentals of fantastic service in between refilling ketchup bottles. "Even if the customer is in fact completely wrong. Just smile and nod. DON'T listen to what Inuyasha says. It's a miracle he hasn't been sued yet and I doubt anyone else would have his luck. Just smile and nod. That's the only way you'll have any shot at a tip." Sango finished wiping off some stray liquid from the tabletop and stood up, stretching.

Kagome nodded. "Smile and nod…" She muttered under her breath. That wouldn't be too hard for her to do. She spent most of her life just smiling and nodding her way through confrontations. Kagome didn't really have the stomach for confrontation normally.

Sango turned to face her and gave Kagome a genuine smile. "It really doesn't take that long to get the hang of things around here. The customers and the food isn't what you should be worried about anyways."

Kagome followed Sango to another table to start organizing the menus. Only half an hour till Your Choice opened for lunch. "If I'm not worried about customers or food then what should I be worried about? Isn't that the basis for restaurants?"

"You should be more worried about us." Sango laughed a little at Kagome's alarmed glance. "Customers are gone within an hour and most of the time they don't even pay attention to their waiter until they want a refill. And food can always be remade within ten minutes if we put a rush on it. Those little disasters don't last very long." Sango paused and wagged a finger at Kagome playfully. "But your coworkers? You're stuck with us and we all have major issues."

"Issues?" Kagome blushed a little; feeling embarrassed about asking a question that might be a little personal. She had only known these people for about a week now.

Sango shrugged and leaned back in the chair, her stack of menus growing as she slipped the days special into the fold. "You had to have noticed by now."

Kagome just shook her head, not responding verbally.

Sango held up seven fingers and leaned in towards Kagome. "First, Miroku. He's been threatened about sexual harassment from coworkers and customers alike multiple times. The boy can't keep his hands off a cute female if his life depended on it. Pervert…"

Sango let one of her fingers drop, 6 remained. "Second, Inuyasha. The guy has more ego then I thought was humanly possible, he will probably end up serving at least 10 years in jail for assault if he keeps up this little habit of hitting everyone that upsets him, and he has his issues with Kikyo. The two probably shouldn't be in the same room, much less working together. They can't decide whether to make out in the back room or shove each other into the oven. It's dysfunctional!"

Another finger slid down against the palm, 5 left. "Let's just move right onto Kikyo since I've already brought her up. She hates this job. She hates this whole town! And she doesn't have to stick around either. She comes from a well-off family and could move if she wanted. But she sticks around just to torment Inuyasha. Their relationship ended a long time ago, but she can't just let him move on. AND she's the one that broke up with him! It might be excusable if it was the other way around."

Part of Kagome wanted Sango to stop. Being this open about other people just seemed inappropriate. But another finger fell, 4 remained and Sango kept on going. "Of course there's me. But I'm perfect, so moving on." Sango just laughed a little as she scooted around talking about herself. Kagome didn't complain. Sango making confessions about other people is just gossiping. But making confessions about herself, that's crossing the line to best friend zone and Kagome wasn't ready for that kind of commitment.

Then there were three. "You probably won't see Koga or Ayame much. They kind of come and go as they please, only showing up for their shifts if they need some pocket cash. They should probably be fired, but they don't show up enough to bother with. Ayame is madly in love with Koga, everyone knows it and she definitely doesn't hide the fact. But Koga… well he kind of pretends that Ayame doesn't exist. He avoids her like the plague. Their relationship is almost as dysfunctional as Inuyasha and Kikyo's. But at least both Koga and Ayame know where they stand, unlike the other two." Sango just shrugged. As if this kind of drama was normal, expected.

Only one left. "And that just leaves you Kagome." Kagome froze and looked at Sango like a deer caught in the headlights. Sango just laughed though and stood up, done with arranging the menus. "But no one knows your story yet, so don't worry. We'll finish this conversation another day."

Kagome didn't have enough time to worry about that conversation with Sango. It's hard to worry about anything when the fat guy at table five is yelling at you for not giving him his extra pickles while the baby at table seven won't stop screaming either though everyone in the restaurant but the mother seemed to notice. You just get caught up in the work.

While Kagome was rushing in between chairs and stepping over tripping hazards like purse straps to get back to the soda machine for a refill, she suddenly felt something large and hard ram into her. Kagome let out a quiet cry as she stumbled forward from the impact. An arm wrapped itself around her waist, stopping her from hitting the ground. Unfortunately the half-filled glass of coke already sloshed over the side and spilled unto her white, pressed shirt.

"Watch where you're going next time." Inuyasha practically growled out from behind her. He allowed his hand to slip off her waist. Kagome cocked her head to look behind her as he brushed some imaginary dust from his shirt, looking agitated. "Well? Are you going to apologize or not for running into me?" He glared down at her from his superior height,.

Kagome never was one for confrontation. But there's something about screaming customers and having coke spilled all over your best white shirt that just brings out the worst in her. "Me _apologize_ to you? ME APOLOGIZE TO YOU?!" Kagome's voice spiked and she didn't even realize that the tables around them were starring, or that Sango was making her way through the crowd toward them to do damage control. Kagome had watched Sango pull a furious Inuyasha out of the dining room.

But Kagome was solely focused on Inuyasha now. "Where the hell do you get off telling me to apologize to you? I was the one being careful! I'm ALWAYS the one being careful! You're the asshole who comes barging through here like people should just be able to sense you're coming and jump out of the way! You rammed into _my_ back! You spilled coke all over my shirt! You should fucking apologize to ME!"

Inuyasha just stood there for a moment as if he was trying to process what had just happened. Before he could open up his mouth to say anything though, Sango reached the two. And with her innate talent at drawing people away from rough situations (acquired from years of being friends with Inuyasha and keeping him from being sued for assault), Sango deftly dragged Kagome to the kitchen. Inuyasha followed right behind them, looking angry.

Once they reached the back room Inuyasha snapped. "What the fuck was that about?" He huffed and leaned against one of the preparation tables, glaring down at Kagome. "Since when did you have a backbone?" He let a small smirk escape.

Kagome just blushed a little and avoided eye contact with either of them as she lightly picked at the darkening stain on her blouse. "I'm sorry… I was just a little stressed and you were being incredibly rude." Her voice was very quiet, like a child trying to explain to heir parents why they were talking back, but knowing she'd be punished in the end anyways.

Sango let out a little sigh. "Don't worry about it. If you didn't want to kill Inuyasha every once in awhile, then we'd be worried there was something wrong with you." She smiled gently at Kagome, who had taken a seat on another little preparation table.

Inuyasha just rolled his eyes, but kept his mouth shut.

"My shirt is ruined though… I can't go back out there." Kagome bit her bottom lip and looked up at Sango. "What should I do?" She felt so defeated. If Hojo were there now he'd be ashamed at her, she was nowhere near perfection at this point with her stained shirt, wrinkled pants, disheveled hair, and bad attitude towards her peers. She wasn't good enough…

Sango seemed to pause and think for a moment, glancing out the kitchen window towards the dining room as if accessing the situation. "Maybe you should just go home. Your shift ends in an hour anyways, and the crowd is thinning out. Inuyasha and I can cover the tables you still have here."

Kagome smiled, relieved. "Thanks Sango." She slid off the table and glanced over at Inuyasha. "Sorry for yelling at you, but I'm not sorry for 'running into you'. That was your fault and you're more of a child then a man if you can't even admit to your actions." With that said, she slipped out the back door in the kitchen to the parking lot and walked over to her car.

As she sat in the car, driving home, Kagome was alarmed with what had happened today. It wasn't like her to lose her cool, to get heated and yell at someone. It was atrocious behavior not becoming a woman. But at the same time it felt so good. To be able to say what she wanted with complete abandon and not worry about what others might think. Just to give into her emotions. Of course she would never let it happen again.

Later that evening, as Kagome was washing the dishes after dinner with her family, she heard the doorbell ring. It wasn't unusual to have people coming to the house late into the evening. Her mother was very focused on her work and didn't let a little thing, like nightfall, interfere with interviews with contractors. Wiping off her hands of any residual soap or water, Kagome walked to the front foyer and opened up the large door.

Kagome was a little dumbstruck to see Inuyasha leaning against her doorframe though. In fact, she was so thrown off she forgot all manners and didn't even invite him in or greet him.

Inuyasha didn't seem the least bit thrown off by her silence though. He just went ahead and started talking. "Look, I just came here to apologize for ruining your shirt. Don't get used to me apologizing to you though! It probably won't happen again." He let out a little annoyed sound, looking across her lawn for a moment before glancing back down at Kagome again.

She smiled nervously. "It's all right Inuyasha. It was just one shirt. You don't have to worry about it. But how did you know where I lived?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "All your information is at the restaurant, remember? I just looked up your files." He shrugged it off as if stealing other people's personal information really wasn't that big a deal.

Kagome opened her mouth to say something about ethics and following the law, but decided against it. The reprimand would only fall on deaf ears.

Just as the awkward silence was starting to draw out between the two, Inuyasha shoved something into her hands. Kagome glanced down to see a non-descript white box, like the ones you get at a department store. "It's just a shirt, so don't get your hopes up. It might have been partially my fault that your other one is stained, so I bought this one for you." He was looking everywhere but her eyes.

"Partially?" Kagome said mockingly.

"Oh shut up." He growled out. He glanced back over to her for a moment. "I guess I'll see you at work later, right?" He moved away from the doorframe and towards the steps of the porch, convinced that there was nothing more to say.

Before he was out of hearing range though, Kagome called out to him. "Thank you Inuyasha!" He just turned around slightly and waved an acknowledgement over his shoulder.

Kagome slipped back inside and smiled as she looked down at the package. Leaning against the door, she lifted the box cover and noticed inside (wrapped in some white tissue paper) was a plain white blouse. But it looked like the perfect size, and something she would wear as if it took him more then a few minutes to just grab something off a shelf. He actually put some thought into it…

She let out a small smile. He was nicer then he let on.

"Kagome? Who was that boy?" Her mother was standing at the foot of the stairs, still in her work suit even though it was well past 8:00 in the evening.

"He's just a boy from the restaurant." Kagome usually shared everything with her mother. But for some reason she wanted to keep Inuyasha to herself, as if talking about him or anyone else at work would ruin that little world. Her mother would never understand what drew her to that place, so different from the rest of her life. So instead of ruining her mother's image of her, she just didn't talk about it.

Her mother looked skeptical for a moment before slowly nodding. "Ok." She turned around to go back up the stairs when she paused for a moment. "You've been spending a lot of time there recently. Just don't forget about your other obligations."

Kagome just nodded, even though her mother's back was already turned to her. She glanced back down at the smooth, white shirt and smiled again before going upstairs to go to bed.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed that chapter. Please review! I love to hear what you guys are thinking about the story.


	4. Chapter 4

Waitress

By: UGAdawg

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. Sorry for the long wait, it was a bad week with AP exams and graduation. But now I'm back to writing and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

Chapter 4

Kagome sat in her room letting her fingers mindlessly drum against her wooden desk. It was her day off this week, and she had no idea what to do with herself. Over the past couple weeks; Kagome has basically volunteered to work every day, every shift. Finally Inuyasha had to tell her that she had to take a couple days off or he might get sued for working her too much.

And that's why Kagome was sitting home alone with nothing to do. She had started to think that she had become a bit more independent after working for a while at Your Choice, but she was wrong. She had just replaced her dependence on Hojo to a dependence on Your Choice.

Sitting upright, Kagome dragged her Mac book over to her and checked her email. It was just wishful thinking that Hojo may have sent her something, some reassurance that he was thinking on her as much as she was thinking of him. But Kagome had already checked five minutes ago and there was still an empty inbox glaring out at her.

There's nothing like an empty inbox and a silent phone to make one feel unwanted.

Finally after feeling worthless for another half hour, Kagome slipped out of her room into the upstairs hall. Stepping lightly to the end of the hall, Kagome glanced inside her mother's office. Of course her mother was sitting diligently at the computer following up on a few contracts. She worked a lot too. It was easier to avoid the family that way.

"Mom?" Kagome announced clearly while lightly tapping the doorframe.

Her mother glanced up for a moment to show that she acknowledged Kagome's presence before glancing back at the computer screen. "I'm a little busy right now. What did you need, honey?"

Kagome licked her dry lips and sighed under her breath. When her mother announced that she was busy that usually meant you had to keep your dialogue short because she just didn't have time for children at the moment. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm going out to the park for a little while." Kaori didn't make a verbal response, just nodded to show that she heard Kagome.

Stepping down the steps and out the front door, Kagome practically jogged to her car. She was just so eager to finally be out of her room. It was starting to get claustrophobic.

The park was a huge place surrounding the town's lake. It wasn't a large lake but had enough fish in it to tempt men to come out to the banks on the weekend mornings to try their luck. A nice wooded area surrounded the lake with a winding track meandering around the whole lake. It was a very popular place to jog for most of the town. There were also picnic areas scattered about the shores too.

In her earlier years Kagome would always come to the lake. Sometimes her father would somehow manage to convince her to roll out of bed at 4 a.m. to get a good fishing spot. No matter how early she woke up, or how good a spot they got; it seemed she could never catch more then minnows. Kagome also used to jog there too. Hojo didn't like it though, too many people and bugs. So she had gotten a gym membership with him and now ran on treadmills.

But she wasn't going there to run or fish. Kagome just wanted something to do. And there's not that any things you can do for free. She had gotten very money conscious lately with college peeking at her from around the corner.

Parking in one of the various small, gravel lots, Kagome slipped out of her car and started to walk towards the track. Exercise increases endorphins (she had learned that in her Anatomy class), so maybe a little walk in the fresh air would help her get over the slight depression Hojo's negligence and her own boredom created.

Halfway around the lake and ten bug bites later, Kagome finally reached a clearing. She had started to think the mosquitoes hid in the bushes till a stray ankle got close enough for them to pounce on. No wonder Hojo hated the place; nature really is out to get you.

While she was lightly scratching a few bites on her left leg, leaning over and not paying much attention to what was going on around her. She vaguely noticed a young man's voice crying out about something in the background. A few guys were playing a game of soccer in the open field, so she just assumed they were yelling at each other. Normally she would at least spare a glance over to see what the commotion was about. But the two teams were split up into shirts and skins, and even though Hojo was thousands of miles away, she would feel guilty ogling another man so she removed the temptation by ignoring it.

Unfortunately she probably should have been paying attention to the men because not a moment later something large and round collided with her head, knocking her onto the ground since she was already leaning over. Letting out a cry, Kagome caught herself with her arm feeling a few scraps resulting from the contact of skin on concrete. A soccer ball rolled innocently away from the scene.

"God, you really do have the worst timing don't you? You're always getting in my way." The voice was obnoxiously familiar. But Kagome was too busy laying splayed across the track in a public area like a fool and starring at her slowly trickling blood.

A few more footsteps were heard approaching her. "Don't be such as ass, the girl's hurt."

A hand presented itself to her and Kagome gladly let the man pull her to her feet. She found herself starring at charming violet eyes, familiar eyes. "You ok Kagome?" She was having trouble understanding where she was at the moment. The soccer ball had hit her fairly hard at the back of the head, knocking her a little senseless. Whoever had kicked it had quite a leg.

"Miroku?" She continued to hold onto his arm, refusing to let it go even though she was steady on her feet.

He just smiled a little. "You really are out of it, aren't you? But you can let go on my arm now."

Kagome just shook her head. "If I let go of your hand, it's just going to wander from my arm to my ass. I think I'll just hold on for a little while longer."

She heard chuckling from her other side and glanced over at the sound. Inuyasha was standing there, smug as could be, with the soccer ball securely placed under his foot. "She really knows you too well Miroku. You'll never get a good feel of her at this rate." Did she mention he was playing on the skins team? Even his rude, arrogant nature was having trouble masking that built body. Damn temptation. Just think of Hojo… Hojo… Hojo…

Then it clicked.

"Were you the one that hit me?" She stood there, glaring daggers at Inuyasha till the smirk on his face started to falter a little under her glower.

He huffed a little. "Not my fault you always get in my way. First you stalk me to the restaurant, then you ram into me at work, now you're throwing yourself in my way out here. Could you be any more desperate?"

All thoughts of his body were gone. "You are such an arrogant asshole! You nearly knock me out cold and you blame it on me. What is your problem with actually admitting that you can screw up? I've never met someone so… so infuriating in my life. I only find myself losing my temper around you." She let go of Miroku's arm and crossed her arms over her chest in the typical child tantrum stance.

Instead of groping her, Miroku neatly slinked away and back toward the other soccer players who were standing watching the spectacle and waiting for their ball back. Inuyasha just rolled his eyes at her argument before placing the smirk back on his face. He leaned in a little towards her till their faces were mere inches away from each other.

Hojo… Hojo… Hojo… Kagome furiously thought and tried to ignore the burning amber eyes and full lips so close to her own.

Finally he muttered huskily under his breath, just loud enough for Kagome to pick it up. "At least I'm the only one that can inspire some… _passion_ in you." He drew back and jogged over to his friends, leaving her speechless and red where she was. Sparring another glance at the group of boys, recognizing Koga among the twenty or so boys too, Kagome turned on her heel and bolted back to her car. By the time she reached her little red sedan, she had worked up a slight sweat.

She didn't immediately jump into her car though; instead she turned and leaned against the hood. What Inuyasha said disturbed her in ways that it really shouldn't. It was true that she had never lost her temper around Hojo. It seemed every relationship had little fights scattered throughout the time people are together, except for her and Hojo. There were no arguments, but there was also no spark. She had been happy with that. It had always been… relaxing. She didn't even want passion. And Inuyasha had no right to say that when he knew she was in a very committed relationship.

Glancing at her watch, Kagome noticed that a couple hours had already passed by. It was probably time for her to go home and help her mother prepare dinner. Something in her wanted to find Inuyasha and Miroku again though. They looked like they were having fun, and she certainly never felt like she was beneath them. It was a refreshing change from always being around Hojo, who inspired a feeling of unworthiness in her.

She shook the thought out of her head. She really was lucky to have someone as perfect as him… even if there wasn't any passion.

A/N: I hope you liked the chapter. Please review and tell me what you think.


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